Hollande: France to Spend More than 2 bn Euros to Fight Unemployment
French President Francois Hollande pledged Monday to spend more than 2.0 billion euros ($2.2 billion) on a package of measures to fight stubbornly high unemployment.
Hollande said France was in "a state of economic emergency" and needed new measures urgently, but he promised that they would not be financed by tax rises.
Unemployment, which stands at around 10 percent or 3.57 million people in the eurozone's second-largest economy, was the "only issue which ranks above security for the French people", the president said.
Hollande said France needed to "increase the pace of reforms" and innovation was "key" to getting people back to work.
"France must also increase training, education and the level of qualifications of its workers," he said.
The French economy has suffered after the jihadist attacks in November that killed 130 people and led to reduced growth in the fourth quarter.
Source: Agence France Presse
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